A Boat, River, Helicopter, Meteor, and Prayer

What does a boat, a river, a helicopter, a meteor, and prayer have in common? Well all mixed together it creates a very interesting, but true, story.

I'll give a brief time-line of events. A good friend of mine told me on Saturday night (8.11.07) that he was going to take a flat-bottom-boat and put it in the river by his house and just float down the river. I was actually a little dissapointed it was going to be on a Sunday and I couldn't go, but apparently that was for the best.

As planned, he and a few friends put the boat in the river on Sunday morning with plans to be picked up later on in the day at a planned destination. The story takes a turn however when the boat didn't show to be picked up. No one heard from the guys until close to night fall when one of them phoned in saying that they were lost and could see nothing but water and trees. This brought a mixture of emotions in that they knew they were safe but were completely lost, and it was getting dark.

You can cover quite a few miles travling down river from early morning until late evening so the fear was that there was no telling how far they might have gone. By now darkness has set in, contact has been lost with those in the boat, none of the boaters had eaten all day, they had no water, and the hundred degree weather had not been forgiving.

With the family learning that they were lost police were contacted to start a search. After a time of searching it was clear to the police that a rescue chopper was going to have to do the work. Now I want to remind everyone that this was just an innocent fun-filled day in a flat-bottom-boat traveling down the river that turned into a rescue search with police, helicopters, and news coverage (actually pretty exciting!).

So we've covered the boat, the river, and the helicopter, but where does the meteors and prayer come in? Well here it is...

When I get the word that the rescue misison for my friend (who will be nagged about this for a while) had begun, I was with several other friends watching the meteor shower (cool site) that God was blessing us with. After telling everyone around me about the search that was going on, laying in the middle of the field someone said, "Well maybe we should pray." Come to think of it, that might be a good idea. So we all gathered together and did just that. Within thirty mintues of our prayer, the phone rang and they were found.

I guess you could say it was just the rescue team that found them. But I want to ask you the question that I was asked last night. "How would the situation have turned out had we not prayed?" When you think about it, you never know. Ultimately they would have been found eventually, but how much longer? All I know is that the Bible says He hears us when we pray (1Peter 3:12).

I was just reminded in that simple moment once again, God is just a prayer away. Not only is He a prayer away, He is listeneing. So through four guys lost in a boat, on a river, being tracked by a helicopter, while I watching meteors, we prayed and within a very short period of time the prayer came through, I want to remind you as I was reminded, God is listening.

God is Listening,

Brandon